To be human is to have a collection of memories that tells you who you are and how you got there.
-Rosecrans Baldwin
Overview
For my final Apollo project, I wanted to learn the mechanics of spoken word poetry and memory. I researched the topics separately, but quickly realized that the two could be solidly intertwined. In this project, I explored how spoken poetry is different than written poetry, how memory works in the brain, and different techniques for recording spoken word,
Social Studies
For social studies, I looked into the psychology of memory and how it works in the brain. I did some really interesting research about why humans can only remember so much, and how the brain decides what is significant enough to keep. I learned how memories can be changed over time as the connection between synapses change and weaken.
To embody this research, I looked through my childhood photo albums to find photographs that I remember. I then recreated the photos and wrote explanations of how my research was relevant to my own experience. The recreated photos can be seen to the right. |
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Art
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For art, I wanted to take the spoken word I had written for my English component and film it like I had seen professionals do. This involved doing research on different techniques used in recording slam poetry, such as lighting, angle, and frame, among other things. I recorded my first video, and after getting feedback from peers and teachers, I decided I could do better.
I recruited one of my classmates for help with filming. We found a new location, new angles, and other things that made the video look much more realistic and less like an audition video. The final video can be seen to the left. |
English
For English, I decided to write a spoken word poem, a written poem, and a hybrid of the two. I chose to write about a topic I have experienced both when I was little, and now that I'm a senior in high school: catcalling. I wrote the spoken word poem partly in the perspective as my baby sitter who I remember warning me about interacting with older men. I compared this to how I experiencing catcalling now. I wrote the written poem about a similar topic: sexual harassment. Next, I combined the two poems into one hybrid poem where I explored how the elements of spoken poetry compare to those of written.
The written poem is on the left, the hybrid is in the middle, and the spoken is on the right.
The written poem is on the left, the hybrid is in the middle, and the spoken is on the right.
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